Renault to make India as manufacturing hub for Duster

     French car maker Renault is aiming big with its SUV Duster in India. Renault is planning to make India as the exclusive manufacturing and export hub of its SUV Duster. The Duster SUV will be launched in second half of next year.

     The Duster with its solid and muscular built seems to be best utility vehicle suited for Indian conditions. The segment currently dominated by Bolero will see a strong completion from Duster, provided Renault prices it competitively. The Duster is expected to be priced between Rs. 7-9 lakh which will be a value for money product in the segment.


     The Duster will be powered by the same 1.5L dCi engine of Logan and Micra. However, we feel the 1.5L engine would too small for the Duster size, Renault would definitely work on the power and troque issues before fitting it into the Duster. A 1.6L petrol engine is also on the cards. The Duster will be available in both 4x2 and 4x4 versions. The vehicle will look same for both India and international markets barging some cosmetic changes in the looks.

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Mahindra updates its largest selling MUV Bolero

     India’s utility vehicle manufacturer Mahindra has given a new lease of life to its largest selling utility vehicle Bolero. The updated Bolero has some cosmetic changes and is now powered by a Low Cost Common Rail diesel engine which delivers fuel economy of 15.96 Kmpl as certified by ARAI.

     The engine powering the updated Bolero has been borrowed from recently launched Scorpio EX. The updated Bolero features many cosmetic changes in the exterior which include – restyled grill which is black in colour unlike the earlier one which was body coloured, redesigned front bumper and headlamps. The updated Bolero now features a rear wiper with a defroster to meet the future Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR).

     In the interior the major changes are seen. There is a bronzed hue to the cabin with plastics beige in colour. An all new digital instrument console with LED display for the speedometer, fuel gauge and engine temperature is the main highlight. The steering wheel gets leather wrapped and gear know and air condition vents gets some aluminum insertions. The seats have dual tone shade and the central console gets wood trims.  

     Three variants of updated Bolero is available – SLE, SLX, ZLX. All the three models are available in both BS3 and BS4 complaint. Following are the prices of different variants of updated Mahindra Bolero.

Mahindra Bolero SLE BS3 - Rs 6.19, BS4 - Rs 6.33 lakh

Mahindra Bolero SLX BS3 - Rs 6.67, BS4 - Rs 6.81 lakh

Mahindra Bolero ZLX BS3 - Rs 6.82, BS4 - Rs 6.96 lakh

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Toyota Etios and Etios Liva diesel launched in India

     Toyota has launched diesel variants of Etios and Etios Liva in India. The Etios and Etios Liva diesel prices starts from Rs 6.44 lakh and 5.54 lakh respectively (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Both Etios and Etios Liva diesel is powered by 1.4L D-4D engine.

     The 1.4L D-4D diesel engine powering the Etios and Etios Liva is the same one which propels Toyota’s bigger sedan Corolla Altis. But the engine used in Etios and Etios Liva has no Variable Geometry Turbo, but instead has a Fixed Geometry Turbo. Toyota has done so reduce the cost and increase the fuel efficiency of Etios and Etios Liva. According to Toyota, the Etios siblings deliver 23.57 Kmpl, certified by ARAI.




     The Etios sedan is available in 3 variants - D, VD and top-of-the-line VXD where as Etios Liva is available in 2 variants – GD and GD(SP). All the models available have Airbags, EBD and ABS as a standard feature.

Toyota Etios Liva Diesel Specficationns

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Honda City facelift spied, to come by November

     Honda had few days ago mentioned about the facelift of its sedan City, to make the sedan look fresh, though it has been only just 3 years since its launch in India. The Honda City facelift has been spied being tested in Gurgaon. The Honda City facelift spy pictures have been provided by India’s leading automobile magazine Autocarindia. The facelifted City will be launched in November this year. 

     As seen in the pictures, the facelifted City features a redesigned front bumber with new grills which look more like that of the Accord. In the rear also you find a redesigned bumper and tail lamps which will supposedly have LED lights. The other noticeable change in the exterior is the redesigned outside rear view mirror and new set of alloy wheels. 

     Apart from the changes in the exterior, Honda might also upgrade the City’s interior as well. However there will be no change under the hood – the same 1.5L iVTEC petrol engine with 116 Ps of power will do the duty. Keeping in mind the strong competiton in the segment, we beilive Honda will not hike the price of the facelifted car. To remind you, Honda had slashed City prices recently by upto Rs. 66,000/-.

Picture source: Autocarindia

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Scoop: Renault’s small car for India is 'Modus', spied testing in Chennai

     At the time of the launch of Fluence sedan, Renault in its Indian website had mentioned about a small car for India supposed to be launched at Auto Expo 2012. The car shown in the website was covered, which has been revealed now. The small car will be Renault Modus and guess what? Renault on its website now has mentioned about its launch in this winter. This means the Modus will be launched in India by November this year. We guess the launch of new Swift and Etios Liva has prompted Renault to fasten its small car launch.

     The Modus has been spied being tested in Chennai where Renault in association with Nissan has its manufacturing plant. The spy pictures were provided by Mr. JRAJE of Team-Bhp. Though only the rear spy pictures of the car is available, we googled for Modus and found the vehicle. We are sharing the complete picture of the car with you folks…

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Car Prices in Bangalore

Chevrolet	Spark Beat Cruze Captiva
Ford	Figo Fiesta Classic All New Fiesta Endeavour
Fiat	Grande Punto Linea
Honda	Brio Jazz City Civic CR-V
Hyundai	Eon    Santro Xing    i20    Fluidic Verna
Nissan	Micra
Skoda Auto	Fabia  Laura Superb

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Ford India’s ground breaking ceremony at Sanand, Gujarat

     American automobile giant Ford did a ground breaking ceremony at Sanand, Gujarat for its new state of the art integrated vehicle and engine manufacturing facilities. Ford plans to invest over USD 1 billion in this new plant which creates 5000 new jobs. The plant will have capacity to produce 2,40,000 vehicles and 2,70,000 engines per year with the first product coming out in 2014.


     Ford with the establishment of a second plant in India is very serious about the Indian market. President and Managing Director of Ford India said “With this groundbreaking, Ford is planting the seeds for a prosperous future in Sanand for our future employees, suppliers, dealers and customers. As good corporate citizens we will be first-rate stewards of this land and active participants in this community.”

     Till now Ford has invested over USD 2 billion in India. The company had announced it will launch 8 new models in India in this decade, the first one – All new Ford Fiesta being already launched. Ford plans to increase its sales and dealer network to 200 by the end of this year. In 2011, Ford has continued to grow aggressively in India by opening one service or sales outlet every week.

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